Bloodlust: Birth of the Pheonix
by Bug-in-a-Rug
Summary: Inu-YuYu crossover. Sequal to B:P. Kagome's tragic past has left her cynical. An illegal job with a telepathic demon leads to questions... and a certain Forbidden Child.
1. My Life

**_AN:_** I've had a head swarming with ideas lately, and I had to get it out. Both of my YYH/IY crossovers will lead to basically the same place; the back-streets in the demon city where the Dark Tournament takes place. I have no idea what happens after the tournament, so I'm gonna be working slowly with that. Umm... That's 'bout it! If you haven't read my one shot, do. I'm not going to re-explain anything that you might find out by reading it so.. hey!

"During the seventeenth century a Lord by the name of---" The door to art classroom 502 creaked open slowly. Every students head turned towards the door, expecting to see maybe the gnarly old woman who delivered messages between the teachers, or maybe the gray haired janitor who sometimes made his way into an active classroom by accident, or even an older student who had been late because of work. But every pair of eyes showed amazement when instead of any of those people, a young girl strode in.

It took about thirty seconds for everyone to get a little uneasy.

In the doorway was a girl with raven-black hair pulled into a bun held up with chop-sticks. Over her shoulder was a rough looking army bag that matched the baggy pants she wore perfectly. There was a patch over the left knee seemingly made of regular denim, and one on her left heal made of something silvery. Her eyes were chocolaty-brown and filled with an innocent look you usually found in small children. Normal lip-gloss shined white on her lips to match the arrow on the chest of her other-wise army green Tee-shirt. There was a little scar on the left side of her forehead the was highlighted white when she nervously smiled.

Everything about her screamed innocent teenager, except that all those who looked close could see the white scars that could not quite fade into the weathered tan of her skin. And anyone who was particularly sharp could see thick calluses on her hands that were probably (she wore tennis-shoes so this could not be verified) mirrored on her feet and thick indents on her right middle and trigger finger.

"Um... I'm sorry?" She tried. A couple of the students snickered. The professor scowled.

"You're free to be late here, Higurashi, but I'm also free to kick you out of my class whenever I please. Don't disrupt my class again." the so dubbed 'Higurashi' smiled again.

"Gomen ne, Professor. It won't happen again."

**Kagome's POV**

The pinched-face Professor just scowled again and turned toward his class. After blowing a quiet raspberry at him I walked over to an empty seat and took out my recorder. After putting in a fresh tape I pulled out a notebook and wrote down little notes about what was on the chalk-board and anything else that came to mind. It took me a moment to realize that I'd written down most of the public exit's I'd passed and the descriptions of some of the people that were grinning and/or glaring at me.

I guess for you that's not normal. But that's pretty much my life now. After I left home with a youkai child and a pre-teen demon-slayer from the past to take care of, you start paying a lot of attention to ways of taking care of them. And when they're as strange as my new family is and probably always will be, you tend to look out for their physical protection as well as financial.

That's pretty much the only reason I'm here. I moved to a new city when I left and changed my first name. There are a lot of Higarashi's down South, so all I had to do was change my other name to Kikyo. If my blood-relatives need me enough, they can find me. For now I need to protect the secrets of the two kindred spirits I now live with, and pay the schooling charges of.

That took severe studying (to which still brings me nightmares) and two-jobs. I got into a delinquent school a little ways from our apartment buildings, but only just barely. I just started this year really. I guess all this starts at the real beginning of my new life. A life where going home means checking the locks and making sure nothing inside our apartment's been messed with.

Sighing, I again take the paranoid feelings at face value and inspect the other students. I have enough nightmares in my past. I shouldn't have to deal with this. After... that... happened, I learned that you never take anyone for granted. Sometimes life can't hold you up anymore, and you have to hold up your life, and whoever else you don't want to let go of.

It's pretty funny how karma takes big bites out of your backside, huh?

I guess I've changed a lot since last year. One, I don't go helping everyone anymore. I've got two kid monkeys on my back already, I don't need anything else. I guess that's selfish of me, but there's another change. I don't really care. I don't really care about a lot of things. I don't really care if that skinny kid six rows down from me is getting enough to eat. I don't really care if that guy three seats to my left is going to come after me after class. I might have once wondered if he could be changed. If maybe something happened when he was little to make him this way, and he just needed a little help.

But 'once' was a long time ago for me.

After what I've been through I've begun to think that maybe everyone else needs to pick up after themselves. If they want to help each other, fine. But I've got enough on my plate not to help some gangster who could have grown up better if he'd tried. My uncle's parents died when he was ten, and he had to raise himself as a inn-cleaner or whatever most of his childhood. He enrolled himself in the navy, eventually retired and married the girl literally next door. He turned out to be one of the best people I know. He made the choice.

Now if that skinny girl is worried about her boyfriend or her parents or something, she needs to look at her life and wonder how she would feel if everyone she knew were dead, and everyone else were after the little kids she'd chosen to taken care of. To wonder what it would be like to work two jobs while crying yourself to sleep every-night when guys with corny pick up lines try to pick you up for a one-night-stand when you leave work.

But am I going to tell her that? Nope. She'd just cry or yell or say I don't understand or something equally as ignorant. It may make me selfish, but with my problems I don't think anyone has the right to say I 'don't understand' something like a confidence issue.

I guess I haven't changed a lot in other ways though. I still wake up sometimes wondering what type of Ramen I should pack for the Feudal Era, or what tests are coming up. Then my hands sting and everything comes back to me like a train rolling over the tracks after they haven't been used for a while. Then all I can do is hold back the tears and go wake up the kids.

I still can't help but spoil Shippo. And Kohaku now, too, really. Whenever they give me that puppy-dog look I just melt. I guess anyone who was in my heart before it froze over still has access to it. I still get hyper in the mornings and I still hate coffee. I still laugh at the strangest things and fight the cashiers over how expensive chicken is. And, call me corny, but I still watch romance movies every Saturday night.

The old me is still there.

But there's a new me too. The demon me. Pretty literally actually. I'm actually part demon now. I guess my underage roommates aren't the only ones with weirdness.

"... that quote, Higurashi?" Kagome jumped, barely keeping herself from growling, and brought wide, innocent eyes to her glowering Professor.

"Um... I'm afraid I didn't catch that, Professor."

"I don't want to repeat myself in my own classroom, Higurashi. I don't like slackers." He glared again. Opening his thin, cracking lips to reveal stained, cracking teeth, he continued, "I don't know how someone as disrespectful as you managed to get into this school. I don't know why they even let in dirty little beggars like you. I tell you now, Higurashi, that I don't like irresponsible, lazy little brats coming into my classroom acting as if they really belong. Just because you expect to be treated like royalty doesn't mean you deserve it. If you did you'd have someone there for you to provide you with some decent clothing. What do you have to say for yourself, girl?"

I was shocked.

I glanced around at the other students, but they continued the work like it was normal. A girl a couple seats down passed me a sympathetic look and shrugged. That must mean this was normal. They must just all sit here and take it. The human side of me considered doing the same while the demon side cruelly remembered that in the past this small man would have pissed off someone just like her early in life and found himself in two or more pieces. The demon wondered if she could get away with that here. The two sides decided to compromise.

"Bob... can I call you Bob?" Without waiting for a reply I continued, "I have to admit some of that hit's right on the mark. When I'm not kissing somebody's ass or working one of my two jobs or going to some crappy school or taking care of my son and brother or looking for some way to afford Christmas presents I do the selfish thing and go somewhere to sit on my ass. Yeah, I'm not as clean and primped as I could be, but hey, look on the bright side. At least I smell better then you do! Yeah, it probably is my fault no one's there to get me to buy expensive clothing for your benefit. I might suck up to people to make sure my brothers get fed, but at least I don't stick my entire head up their ass so I can get fancy food and clothes." I was standing now, glaring the little man in the face, then I turned and started to stuff my things back in my bag.

"You know, Bob, I worked my ass off in school to go to college and get some sort of degree so I could spare my family from the lack of respect the little mutant rat's such as yourself tend to have towards us 'dirty little beggars'. I worked my way here, damn it, and I deserve to be here! And don't you pinch your pointy face at me, Professor, I've stepped on thing's bigger then you and it's not exactly what I'd call intimidating!

"And now that you've given me a thorough list of what is wrong with me I think I should return the favor! I don't know how a rat-faced, ass-kisser found his way into the teaching business, but don't be surprised if your bad teaching skills, bad breath, and temper tantrums get you fired! I usually don't judge people so would you forgive me for saying that small men with smaller minds need to find their way _out _of the gene pool!"

There. Much better. I'd ripped off his proverbial ego and blown some long collected steam at the same time. I felt my entire body relax in the sudden stunned silence of the classroom. I scanned the classroom to see each of the students staring at me with looks ranging from awe to shock to disgust. I finally turned to look at the teacher who'd probably dismiss me from the class. I was not disappointed.

The pinched-face rat-like Professor stuttered, turned red, shook, stuttered some more and then shouted for me to get out of the class. I sighed and left, wanting fresh air and yet beating at myself mentally for loosing my cool. It was out of character. But then again, I had been approaching a touchy subject.

Something else had happened a year ago.

Something that I have yet to tell the kids.

Something that put all the problems of those kids in there to shame.

Priestess and demon can't live together. The two people I am are killing each other. Soon there will be nothing left.

My two sides will keep fighting each other until both of them, until all of me, ceases to exist.

My hands are hurting again...

**_AN:_** I'm posting to chapters, so no one can accuse me of leaving on a cliffie here. Btw, her hands hurt because that's where she's always focused her miko energy in the past, and where she's begun to channel her fire energy as well. A brief surge of inspiration told me I should not make her go after the inu crew, because that's been done to many times before. I'm going to do something a little different, and that I hope you guys like. Thanks for sticken with me!


	2. What's Left of Me

**_AN:_** I am absolutely evil to leave it off where I am gonna... but what the hell, right? I have been pretty happy about this and if you all send IM's to Allyb90 I'm sure I'll remember. That's where you can catch me, by the way, but reminding me to update by mail just doesn't work. Probably because I never _check_ my mail... Anywho, enjoy the story! Oh, and I don't really own anything... not officially.

**Regular POV**

Kagome walked towards the Western Entrance and stopped by the vending machines. Pulling out some spare cash she got the cheapest energy drink there was. She was used to drinking several of these a day. They were expensive, but they kept her awake.

Pulling back the tab and listening as it hissed in reply, Kagome took a seat against the wall by the machine. Head leaned forward and elbows propped up on bent knees, she began to clear her mind. She was thinking too much. All she had to do was finish this drink, get to the next class, and make her way through the day. No tomorrow. No 'eventually'. She'd probably be gone in a couple of years anyway.

Kagome groaned and threw her head at the wall. After a 'thud' and a few well chosen curse words, she returned to clearing her head... No thoughts... Just time. Floating by. Second by second.

Breath...

Something touched her shoulder.

"SHIT!!!" Jumping onto her feet, Kagome slipped toward the left and fell against the broad '_Energizing Refreshment!!!_' across the side of the metal machine. Eyes flying towards the spot right of her previous seat, she gaped.

A man in a business suite stood tall a few feet away from her. His amused golden eyes placed him in the 'not exactly normal' category and revealed his youkai blood, no matter how thinned out it was. Pale blond hair was buzzed-cut and gelled to perfection, bringing out the aristocratic bone structure. His face (besides his eyes) were perfectly expressionless. Kagome suddenly realized who he reminded her of.

"If you start referring to yourself in the third person I'm going to scream." The man's eyes briefly shined with curiosity before he looked down and shook his head.

"I'll try not to then. Wouldn't want you to freak out just yet." Kagome narrowed her eyes. Unfortunately, the effect was lost as her eyes were already narrowed from her earlier confusion, making them nothing but slits on a red face that was still gasping for air. The mans eyes twinkled again, but he didn't say anything else.

"... Just yet???" Kagome frowned. Seeing the edge of his mouth twitch she shook off her stupor and pulled herself into a respectable position. Growling, she stepped forward and poked him in the chest, "Listen, bud! I don't know or really even care what you want but you can't just scare a girl out of her freaking mind and stand there, without an apology, and start trying to intimidate her!!!" Kagome frowned. Okay... that hadn't come out as well as it had in her head... The man shook his head and put his hands in front of him in a peaceful manner.

"Calm down, Ms. Higurashi. I don't mean you any harm." Kagome froze and stood up straight. This man knew her name. What else did he know? Could he hurt the boys? Kagome growled and in seconds had him on the wall with her hands at his throat, feet hovering about three inches above the floor. (so... she's not all that tall...)

"Who do you work for!?!" His eyes twinkled and she slammed him against the wall, "Tell me!!!" She began to feel a tickling sensation at the back of her head. She ignored it (stupidly). She was far to angry and confused to care about something so pointless.

'I don't work for anyone.'

She jumped back and grabbed onto her head. Great. Now that she needed her senses she had to go crazy.

'Calm down.' She instantly felt a lot calmer. Each of her individual muscles seemed to suddenly relax, 'My intention is to offer you a job.' She suddenly realized just what he was doing and growled. Pulling her suddenly tired arms up to her ears she squeezed. After searching through her mind she came across an opening, a link of some kind. Grabbing hold of the spiritual thread, she did the only thing she could think of.

'Get out of my head!!!' She mentally screamed. She's not a telepath. Never could have been. But he was so deep in her mind she could almost hear her own voice come out his ears. He cringed and snapped his thumb and forefinger together. Without loosing the link he'd somehow created, two men grabbed onto her arms with such force he almost pulled them out of their sockets.

'I'm sorry, Ms. Higurashi. But it seems we need to... relocate to more helpful surroundings.'

**Kagome POV**

When I woke up I knew right away something was wrong. Not that it was all that hard, mind you. I just don't usually sleep standing up against a cold wall with my wrists chained to the ceiling and my ankles to the ground. Something was, obviously, very wrong. And very uncomfortable. I'm not tall enough to be in that position naturally.

"So, I see you're awake."

"No." Okay... It was stupid. But I didn't want to talk with anyone right now seeing as the moment their voice rang out my head split open in the back. Well... it felt like it did anyway.

I heard someone chuckle. My headache faded. My already sore muscles tensed.

"Alright... I'm awake."

"I thought you would be." Footsteps. About two feet away, "Could I get you anything? Tea, perhaps? Maybe some-"

"Keys?" Another chuckle.

"Those shall be available provided you cooperate." I remembered now where I'd heard the voice. The blonde Sesshomaru. At that moment I could bet you a hundred bucks (in yen) that his stupid eyes were twinkling again.

"Mmm... Cooperate with what?" I finally opened my eyes, but it didn't matter. There was a blindfold or something covering my eyes. It was so light I hadn't felt it before, "Not that I can guarantee I can do whatever it is as I still can't really see much..."

He ignored the second part. "I told you before I had a job offer for you." I decided to pretend I didn't know he meant something illegal. People don't kidnap people for normal job offers. I wasn't sure if youkai did that on a regular basis, but I doubted that, too.

"Need a cook or something? Sorry. Can't help you there. About the only decent thing I can make is Ramen." He chuckled again. Probably another twinkle. Damn it...

"No. I only need a musician." Okay... now I was really confused. The only music I could play was with a piece of grass between two thumbs. You position it just right and blow on the gap between the two thumbs and it whistles. It's pretty neat.

Okay... now I'm getting off subject.

"Sorry. I can't play anything really... You must have kidnapped the wrong high school student." Another chuckle. Why doesn't this guy just get annoyed or some other satisfying reaction?!

"I think we shall get along famously, Higurashi-san." I growled. He chuckled. I hate men.

"Would you let me go then? Even if we do 'get along', I still can't do whatever job you're trying to hire me for. So if it's not too much trouble-"

"It's only a cover-up for the real job," I growled. It turned to a gurgle when he finished, "for which you will be payed thirty million. (in yen)" Thirty million. That was enough to take care of the boys for most of their lives. Long after I'm gone.

"... I'm listening."

"We'll provide you with lessons for several different instruments you can use in the Makai-"

"Makai?" I grabbed on the link in my mind to try to gain any extra thoughts he let slip through. But he wasn't that sloppy. All I felt was the confusion I could smell on him anyway.

"You don't know about the Makai?" I realized suddenly if I didn't play this right I could loose the best opportunity to probably ever come along for me.

"I get the jest of it. But I've never really been there." The confusion only got stronger. Oops.

"How is that possible? Every person with demon blood is required to live there." I knew by the way he said required that it was something he hated deeply. I might be able to play on that.

"Except you, right?" He didn't say anything and I suddenly realized that he was probably breaking some laws. I grinned, "I was born and raised here, bud. You see, I wasn't always half youkai. I made myself one." He was still confused, but he hesitated to say anything more. He was hiding something.

"You'll have to be familiarized with that as well, then," I shrugged. Or as close to shrugging as I could with my arms chained. Which was basically just flopping my elbows. Needless to say, it didn't quite come off as careless as I'd tried for. He paused for a moment, trying to decide if he should say something, before deciding not to and continuing with the earlier subject. "You'll be trained physically as well. In a month you'll be transported with two partners to take the place of a demonic band that was... delayed. There you will complete a simple mission." He stopped. I frowned.

"And this mission is...?"

"Not for just anyone to know." I growled. He chuckled, "You'll learn soon enough, should you choose to accept."

"If I don't?" A stupid question when asking an illegal alien demon. But one should always ask.

"We'll find someone else to take your place." I frowned again.

"What will happen to _me _?"

"You'll find yourself in the Rekai instead." I gulped. I had a feeling he wasn't going to bring me through a portal or something. And it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was talking about the Rekai realm. The realm of the dead.

"Then I guess you've found yourself a deal."

**_AN:_** Hehehehehehe... I absolutely love that scene!!! What's going to happen to Kag? Is she REALLY going to take this job? Who else is she going to meet? What's her mission? Find out the answers to all (but the last one) of these questions next time at the shell shocking (-ly rather ordinary) chapter in Bloodlust: Reanimation!!!! Naw, I'm just kidding ya'... I have absolutely no idea what it's gonna be like. Chow! (the word, not the food)


	3. What I Will Make Myself

AN: I'm kinda sad that this one didn't get more. But, as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. So I'm going to have to count my blessings and hope that I get a few more, but I'm going to stick with this story, I need to try and stretch what I can do, and this is probably the best way. If you've got complaints, state them, but I'm not taking off this story. Thanks for all those who did review, it does help. If there had been no reviews I might have been a little upset. Thanks for the support!!!

Last Time

"And this mission is...?"

"Not for just anyone to know." I growled. He chuckled, "You'll learn soon enough, should you choose to accept."

"If I don't?" A stupid question when asking an illegal alien demon. But one should always ask.

"We'll find someone else to take your place." I frowned again.

"What will happen to me?"

"You'll find yourself in the Rekai instead." I gulped. I had a feeling he wasn't going to bring me through a portal or something. And it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was talking about the Rekai realm. The realm of the dead.

"Then I guess you've found yourself a deal."

This Time

Two hours later I found myself in a huge building all dressed up like some sort of high-class demonness fighter. I had been bathed and scrubbed by two young demon girls who were probably about as powerful as raccoons. They were constantly chattering about stupid things like the males they were interested in and the competitions they were going to compete in. Both seemed pretty decent, but it wasn't long before my headache came back.

When they were gone I was oiled and lotioned and perfumed and all that other stuff. But as it was demon brand the smell was lighter and it's purpose was mainly for the skin. Then I was dressed in about thirty layers of fabric in a fighting outfit that brought out all my best qualities and hid all my flaws. The fabrics were amazingly light and I found myself at just the right temperature. It didn't restrict any movement and I was told later it was fire resistant.

It's amazing what demons will make for a good fight.

After that a stern looking woman with sharp features came in and glared at me. It took her all of two minutes to state all my flaws and start to huff about being stuck with a hopeless case. I growled and picked her up by the neck.

"Do what you were sent to do or get out of here. Your voice is giving me a headache." It was true, if I left out the detail that I'd already had one. She turned bright red and glared again. But the comment served it's purpose. She shut up and started putting on my make-up and styling my hair. I felt a little bad about acting so... well, demon-like, but remembering a specific comment about my ankles steeled my resolve.

I had to remind her several times that I was a fighter. She had to keep things simple and easy to work in. She'd glare at me, but she followed my rules. She eventually pulled my hair back into a braid that went to the small of my back. Several gold, red and white beads were braided in with matching ribbons. A few strands came out to frame my face in the front. They were glossed in this gold gel stuff that kept it from changing shape... I _had_ always wondered why Sesshomaru's hair stayed in absolute perfection for twenty four-seven, but I'd never considered demon hair gel. Huh.

My make-up was simple red eyeliner with gold dust on my eyelids. Golden lips with red lining and two orange stripes on my left cheek. I had to change over to my demonic form for all of it to match, but I wasn't going to do that just because some self-loving, low class, guppy-girl wanted to bring out my demonic side. So in the end my form didn't match my outfit. Looking in the mirror made me feel like some glass doll trying to play one sister while I was meant to be the other. I was really starting to dislike my new boss.

Speak of the devil... Literally, in my current state of mind.

"You look lovely." I turned halfway from the mirror and leveled a glare at him from the side of my still brown eyes.

"I look like a pampered demonness. Well... a pampered hanyo, anyway." He looked me over and sighed.

"You have to try to look the part, Kagome." I snarled.

"Don't call me that," he glared. I realized my mistake, "I'm Kikyo. Kagome is dead. Has been for a while now." He seemed very interested, but as I was still glaring at him, he decided not to push it.

"Well, Kikyo. I believe the two of us are now sufficiently late for dinner."

I now hate dinner. Should gross foods or the descriptions of gross foods repulse you, you might want to skip a few paragraphs. I got there expecting to see some fruit, breads, meat, and maybe some cake and cookies all on crystal platters and in jeweled goblets. I mean, they were obviously rich enough to do that. I didn't really even think twice about it.

That was stupid of me.

The only thing that was like I pictured it would be was the crystal platters and goblets. But in place of the fruit, there were what seemed to be eyes and weird looking cabbage things that were oozing red juice. Bread had different dried flesh. It looked sort of like jerky, except it was jerky I wouldn't give to my cat. The meat was... well... it was meat. But the meat was still red and dripping, and I made out several determinable body parts.

I pretty much lost my appetite. (AN: I made the error of making this a little too gross to edit... if there are flaws in this part I apologize)

"I'll pass." Only then did I notice my boss had disappeared an in his place were two demons on the other side of the table. Both were pristinely dressed and both seemed to have their faces stuck in permanent scowls. That's where the similarities ended. One was thin and tall while the other was short and stocky. One's face was pale and pasty while the other was pink and... sweaty looking... One growled when I entered and the other snorted.

"You cannot 'pass'," the thinner one hissed. His face resembled that of a snake. Sharp nose, small eyes, and a wide, thin lipped mouth. Not to mention the fangs coming out over his bottom lip.

"It is not proper," the other growled. He reminded me of a gopher. I realized I had been wrong when his lips pulled back to reveal buck-teeth the size of matchboxes. I had to painfully swallow a laugh that bubbled up in my throat. He was a beaver demon, "Besides, who would believe a youkai was not hungry? These are all delicacies in the Makai. You'll have to at least learn to try them. You may get lucky and find a house that serves other more simple foods for the less carnivorous demons, but you aren't a plant demon. Or much of anything worthwhile."

"And anyway," The first gave a feral grinned, "Your going to need some food in your stomach when you begin your physical training." I went pale. I had a feeling suddenly that they wouldn't avoid making me into tomorrows... dinner... if I couldn't hold my own.

That was very possibly the worst meal of my life.

Of course, that didn't hold a quarter of what the physical training was like.

I can at least say I liked my physical trainer. He was, amazingly enough, a rebel priest. He'd learned everything because it was tradition in their family for the males to be priests, and the females preiestess's. But having the violent-but-still-hippy-like personality he did, he didn't believe in killing every demon you saw just because... well, just because you saw it. This was the only way he could think of to spite his family. I don't blame him. They disowned him when he told them what he thought of them.

By the way, I didn't know any of this at the time, so our original meeting went a little... different.

The moment I stepped into the training room there was movement in front of me. I ducked just in time, only to find a scythe thing arching down at me from the left. I swear to Kami, the only thought that crossed my head at the moment was 'Why the_ hell_ is the reaper here for me?!' I dodged, barely, and managed to catch a glance at my attacker.

Mid-twenties probably, judging by the hair growing on his chin and upper lip and the brown hair pulled into a traditional samurai bun (AN: or whatever that's called). He was wearing a black fighting gi with blue cuffs and sash. Unfortunately, the moment I saw him was cut short when the scythe in his hands came again from my right.

This time I couldn't completely dodge. A paper thin cut appeared on my cheek. The coppery smell of blood was enough to bring the demon in me to full mode. My eyes flashed red and my lips pulled back in a dog-like snarl, eliciting a harsh, grinding growl that would have been enough to scare any normal man to tears. The priestess side of me (currently locked up in a little cage in the back of my mind) took notice of the quickly hidden grin that passed over the mans lips.

It was my turn to charge him. In seconds I had gotten him on the defensive. Launching myself into the air I came down on him from above. Kicking the back of his head I got enough momentum to launch myself into the air again. Landing, I came into a crouching position behind him. Still growling and still bleeding more demonic energy. The man picked himself up and flicked a piece of dust from his left shoulder. He turned and gave me another one of those confusing grins.

"Well. You lasted longer then I thought you would." My face went slack and I stared for a moment.

"You have to be **_F#!&_** kidding me!" (AN: the previous content is bleeped for cursing, incase you didn't catch that yet) the man laughed. I looked down and shook my head, pulling my priestess energy back into dominance. Once the painful moment passed I hauled myself up and gave the man a pointed look, "Is it customary for priests and priestess's to treat their kind this way without even a name?" He rolled his eyes.

"Right. We're not all that much the same. I'm not a dark priest," He shook his head and grinned again, "But I will tell you they call me Mathew." Ignoring his name, I examined his earlier statement.

"And you assume I'm a dark priestess because...?" Looking back on it, it was a stupid question. I knew _exactly_ why he thought I did.

"I've never met any light ones who have claws and exceptionally powerful energy and go for illegal _demon_ jobs from an illegal _demon_ industry. Besides, I don't really care which way you work. We're all from the same cloth, you know? Just different sides of it. It's the jobs I don't like." I laughed. He narrowed his eyes.

"My demonic form is actually a part of me, not a curse or some sort of deal that I made. I have my own reasons for the job. " To try to deflect his concentrated gaze, I pointed out another thing about his statement I found a little hypocritical, "Besides, if your so against it why are you working here?" Not lessening his gaze, he replied.

"I have my own reasons for the job." I laughed again and he finally smiled.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think you're probably my closest option for a kindred spirit in this century." We eventually got back to work. It turns out that he trains purely in the actual fighting. He had been going very, very light on me for the test when I walked in, and he was going to try and get me almost as good as he was. And I just mean my human side.

My worst favorite part was when he disappeared. I mean literally disappeared! As in, there one minute, gone the next. He'd suddenly reappear somewhere and throw different obstacles at me. "You have to be able to fight someone of greater strength!" he'd shout, or, "You can't expect someone to stay in the same style just because it's normal, stupid! Expect the least likely things to be possibilities!"

As the months passed I trained in everything from that first day and more. I learned proper etiquette for the more courtly of fashions. I learned how to talk my way out of tight situations and how to deal with all manner of different species of demon. I learned to pick locks and work my way around rules, magical and not. They had me reading books like 'A Hundred Ways to Kill Someone' by Hauren Chast and 'How to be a Con-Artist for Dummies' by the end of the month. It took me three months of the hardest training in my life to start to be able to see even the blur of movement that was Mathew. The only thing that kept me alive was my daily letters to Kohaku and Shippo. And the music.

I'd found that I liked demon music more then I did human. It was a more relaxed style of rock, made mostly to challenge another's strength by their control over their movements, the magic in the beet, and their focus in their instruments vibrations and energy. The words could inspire humor in a crowd of angry demons with it's violent lyrics that, the gods help me, were starting to grow on me. They spoke often of killing a colleague of theirs for not shutting up, and then getting promoted for taking 'initiative'. Or making their way up the social latter of weak demons. The best part was most of the lyrics I was supposed to learn were girl power song.

I learned to play a demonic instrument I called Shelly. It was something like a guitar (which is why I picked the name, the only guitar I'd ever touched belonged to an American girl who was obsessed with Hojo and offered to let me have it to stay away from him. It was a pretty good offer, but I settled for just touching it on the basis that she was pretty much getting ripped off... but back to the point), but it had two more strings and would actually take your life energy if you couldn't take control of it.

The music it made was far more inspiring then anything I'd heard before. The sound of it mixed with the life vibrations that come with everyone's individual energy. It didn't take a lot for one to fall in love with their instrument. Call me sappy, if you will, but I fell in love with mine a lot sooner then most. And there was an added bonus.

If you suited it, it'd be your familiar. The instruments were actually alive. Having made myself into something of a firewitch, it would make perfect sense for my creature to be the Phoenix it'd turned out it be. It's feathers were bright red and covered a body that was only about as long as my hand, but it's tail and wings stretched all the way to my elbow. The only thing that surprised me was its eyes. They were brown. Just like my human eyes.

The process of changing Shelly was to completely combine my energy with hers. It bound her to me, and made me so that to destroy her would destroy a piece of my soul. It was a way of inspiring loyalty from the master to the servant so that they were not misused. The familiar loves the master by instinct, and does as she is told because it is the one thing in life that brings them joy. They are always with you, and when I'd first seen her innocent little eyes I'd known I wanted it that way. She was the only piece of me I really wanted. She was my innocence, my joy.

She curled up across my back one night as I lay sprawled on my stomach across my comfy feather-bed. It had been five months since I arrived here, and I'd started to wonder if they hadn't already taught me all they know and started again at the beginning, because all of this was familiar. Turning onto my stomach, Shelly maneuvered and pulled herself onto my stomach, where she curled into a ball and fell asleep. Absently stroking her back, I pulled my other hand up to touch the two orange marks on my cheeks. They hadn't faded. Not since they were painted so intricately on my first day here. Everything else washed away with the flow of water or faded with the passing of time. All but those two marks which marked me so much like Sesshomaru.

I hadn't even noticed that my hand had curled into a tight fist and was producing sparks until Shell hissed discontentedly in her sleep. I jerked, startled, and unclasped my fist. The sparks faded and, as was usual , left no marks. I frowned. I could almost feel myself falling into pace with my demonic side. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. It was both more power and more weaknesses. More corruption and more innocence. More assistance and more...

My frowned deepened. I was thinking _way_ to much. My palms hurt and my head throbbed. I just needed some shut eye.

I don't know what time I conked out, but when I woke up the sun was already a couple hours worth above the horizon. I dressed and headed toward my etiquette class. It was a short walk and so I walked slowly, not really caring if I angered the pathetic professors. I had gotten very attached to the Makai during my stay here. It wasn't really all that surprising that I already knew most of the plant names and the scents of the different weather. I considered that, should I make it out of this job alive, I'd take the boys over and see what they thought. I smiled and opened the door to the drawing room to wave at my professors who...

...weren't there.

I waited for a moment in the doorway before heading off to the next class. I didn't stop to watch the scenery as I passed this time around, knowing that something had to have happened. So I headed to my next class. It was empty. So was the next. I started to panic as I headed for the next class. My physical training class. I just barely opened the door and peeked inside. Nope, still dark. Nobody's home. I turned to walk resolutely towards my final class before I would track the sorry butt-kissing little mongrels who...

"CRAAAAAAP!" I yelped. The dark form in front of me waited for a moment before stepping out. Blonde Sesshomaru. I really do hate that man. I haven't gotten the chance yet to ask if he's supposed to be some distant grandchild of the taiyoukai.

I growled, "You have a nasty habit of showing up when I least expect you. This doesn't happen on purpose, right?" He twinkled. I'd called him Tinkerbell for a while after I came here, but then changed it to Fluffy in tribute to the merciful killer I had once encountered. It was the best he could get of me, so he settled.

"Of course not, Kikyo-chan," Insert roll of eyes, "It's simply a habit I can't seem to get rid of." Insert raised eyebrow. I'm starting to believe this guy must be some weird cross between Sesshomaru's decedents and those of someone from Miroku's ancestors. That last line was WAY too familiar.

Shaking my head doesn't seem to stop me but, once again I realize, I'm thinking way too much.

"Sure, sure. Where is everybody?" Yoshi, as I'd learned his name to be after a while here, waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"I let them all have a day off," I opened my mouth again, but with an ever-expressive twinkle, he cut me off again, "What have you been up to?" I frowned.

"That's-" I mentally scanned my memory for a big word, "-irrelevant and you know it. You gave them a day off for some reason. Care to explain." He smiled politely.

"Not especially."

"Bastard..." He grinned.

"Would you mind joining me for breakfast?" I stuck my tongue out.

"Bite me." He shrugged.

"I'm afraid I have your same aversion to raw meat. But there have been some delicious sandwiches and such prepared.

Some times you just got to go out with as much dignity as you can muster. As my stomach chose that time to speak its protest and I blushed in embarrassment, I realized the only so mentioned 'dignity' I'd be able to get was in excepting. Maybe I could even weasel some information out of him.

We went out to the gardens and sat down at a small lawn-table-and-chairs set that must have been very well kept. I didn't particularly like my host's taste in furniture, but my attention was directed immediately to the food.

We sat, and for lack of a less ironic phrase, dug in. About half way through the meal Yoshi pulled back and wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin. He leaned back and watched me. I knew he knew it made me uncomfortable to be watched while I was eating, and maybe he knew that I knew that he knew it, too. (AN: O.o) So, again with as much dignity as I could muster, I leaned back and, slightly mockingly I will admit, patted my own mouth dry with a napkin. He nodded at the small triumph before pulling a manilla folder out of gods-know-where-because-I-sure-as-heck-don't and set it in front of me.

"I'll assume from our earlier conversation that you already knew there was a reason for today's happenings, so I'll be blunt in my explanation. There is a contract in that folder that you will sign and then get the information on your mission." I glared, he glared back. Yoshi, I may or may not have already mentioned, is the king of mood changes. So I rolled my eyes and opened the folder.

It took me only a few moments to read over the demons-script Shippo had taught me and I looked up at Yoshi for a moment with raised eyebrows. He just watched.

"Is that part that looks almost like marriage vows meant literally?" I leaned forward and scrunched my nose, "I mean like, with wealth or without, dangerous or not, and that other bull crap?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. This form is your oath. Everything you sign for is your promise and your honor, and if you disgrace it we will kill you." I think it might have been this moment that I really and truly realized that I was joining a - if not the - group of mobster demons. I stared blankly at him for a moment and then a moment of blank stares at the form. Repeat and rinse. I almost backed out before I remembered watching Kohaku and an unconscious Shippo in a clearing. 'What have I done?' a little boy's voice whispered in my head.

Screw their threats. Screw their Mafia. This was for the three million (in yen) that would forever keep those two little boys safe. It came to me that maybe I'd gotten soft in the past five months, and I assumed by the confused wave that came over our still there but a little weak link that my face must have taken on the hardened look that came whenever I thought about that day. My heart lurched silently and with a strength that I can assume came from a need for privacy I shut off the link, knowing he'd felt my heart-ache. I glared at him and signed the stupid papers.

My first and biggest mistake in my new life.

AN: For those few of you who actually read this... hehehehe!!! Oh what woe cliffhangers be!

um... okay... on a more formal note... I'm not real proud of this chapter, but I needed some filler info. Oh, andsorry I was late with the update!!! But I gotta go now, so ta!


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